Documents Recording the Enslaved Community of Sweetwater Plantation

Subject

Enslaved People

Description

A Collection of Primary and Secondary Historical Records Documenting the Enslaved Community at Sweetwater Plantation in Florence.

Sweetwater Mansion is one of the most historically significant sites in Lauderdale County. Construction on the mansion was begun by War of 1812 veteran Maj.-Gen. John Brahan (1774-1834), who died before it could be completed. During the War of 1812 Brahan served under General Andrew Jackson.

Brahan had located some three miles east of Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama from Nashville in 1818. The Brahans moved to the recently established county of Lauderdale ca. 1834, after a fire destroyed their Madison County home.

At one time much of what is now East Florence was a part of the Sweetwater plantation (Henry D. Smith is also said to have had a nearby plantation known as “Sweetwater”). It also included Patton Island (hence the name), in the 1830s Tinnon’s Island, in the Tennessee River and what in 1918 became the Wilson Dam Reservation.

According to Robert M. Patton’s granddaughter Mittie Owen McDavid (1877-1958), Sweetwater took its name from the stream running through the property which was called “Succotania” by the native Cherokee, which translated to “Sweetwater.”

According to Mrs. McDavid’s description of the mansion, the brick used in construction of the mansion is said to have been made of red clay from the excavation, then hardened and baked in cypress molds in a primitive brick kiln on the site.

Some or all of the brick-work may have been done by skilled slave brick-masons. The mansion is a fine example of American Georgian style architecture, and is square and large, of red brick laid in cream mortar. Local contractor Thomas J. Crow was hired by Gen. Brahan to do the carpentry and framing; anecdote says Sidney De Priest (ca. 1817-aft. 1880), a slave of the nearby Sidney C. Posey plantation and grandfather of Florence, Alabama native and Illinois US Congressman Oscar De Priest (1871-1951) hung the wallpaper.

The mansion and property were willed to John Brahan’s oldest son, Major Robert Weakley Brahan (1811-1886), whose wife Martha thought it too far outside Florence, so Robert Miller Patton (1809-1885), a Virginia native, merchant and the Major’s brother-in-law, who had come to Florence in 1832 from Huntsville, purchased it from him, throwing his Florence townhouse into the deal. Construction on Sweetwater was finished by Patton in 1835.

Florence merchant Robert Miller Patton married Jane Locke Brahan (1814-1902)—John Brahan’s 2nd daughter—in Madison County on January 31, 1832. The couple had eight children, six sons and two daughters, all but two born at Sweetwater. In 1832, shortly after moving to Florence from Madison County Robert Patton was elected to the Alabama Legislature as a Whig, serving variously in both houses until his election as governor of Alabama in 1865.

According to Robert M. Patton’s 1860 agricultural census enumeration, Sweetwater consisted of 2,000 improved (cultivated) acres and 1,800 unimproved acres and had a cash value of $80,000. Patton had $700 worth of livestock. The plantation had produced 200 bushels of wheat; 100 bushels of rye; 5000 bushels of Indian Corn; 3200 bushels of oats; had baled 190 bales of cotton and produced 200 lbs of wool. Finally, the plantation had produced 50 bushels of peas and beans, 50 bushels of sweet potatoes, and 10 bushels of Irish Potatoes.

John Brahan enslaved several people. After his death, on December 2, 1834, John R. B. Eldridge, Brahan’s estate executor, advertised as for sale on February 1, 1835,”129 valuable Negroes, belonging to the estate of the late John Brahan” in front of the Madison County, Alabama courthouse. We know the name of at least two of Brahan’s slaves: “Dick, an old servant belonging to the estate of the late Gen. John Brahan,” was advertised as being for sale in Huntsville in June of 1835; and John, “about forty five or fifty years of age, somewhat gray and a good rough carpenter,” was sold by John Brahan’s estate to John Hinkle, and thence to William Acklen of Huntsville. Acklen published a runaway slave notice in the Huntsville Democrat on July 15, 1840. At present it is not known whether any of these Brahan slaves were ever at Sweetwater, nor who purchased any but John.

On December 25, 1835, RM Patton sold to P. Maxwell of Lauderdale County, for $850, a 23-year-old Negro man named Davy.

In the 1850 slave enumeration for Robert Patton at Sweetwater 63 enslaved persons ranging in age from 56 to 1 year-old were enumerated, three of whom, a 54-year-old male, 18-year-old female, and 4-year-old male, were recorded as “fugitives from the state.”

In 1860 118 enslaved persons were enumerated at Sweetwater; these enslaved persons ranged in age from 70 to 6 months old. That year’s federal slave enumeration also recorded the number of slave cabins on a plantation, giving the number at Sweetwater as 30.

The 1860 federal mortality schedule recorded the deaths of three unnamed Patton slaves: a 60-year-old man (the 1860 slave schedule for Sweetwater recorded three 60-year-old men) born in Alabama who died after a two-weeks’ illness of inflammation of the bowels in December of 1859; a 40-year-old mother from Maryland who died in April of 1860 five days after childbirth; and a 1-year-old girl who died in May of 1860 after a 7 month’s bout of whooping cough. Presumably all three were buried in the plantations servants’ cemetery, which was located behind the present Weeden Elementary School, a stone's throw away from the Sweetwater slave quarters.

Regarding the location of the slave quarters, in Historic Homes of Alabama Mrs. McDavid notes that “In the back grove, above the creek edging the fields, were the negro quarters.” According to Florence City Historian the late William L. “Bill” McDonald:

"The slave quarters were located at the back of the spring on a hill above the creek. Twenty-four cabins were arranged in a square that formed the court. The largest cabin at one corner was the home of the plantation overseer. Six additional cabins were later added in a row below the square. Private gardens were laid out for each family."

One of the Patton family slaves was “Uncle” Edmund Patton (ca. 1822-1894). Edmund was purchased in Florence by Robert M. Patton as a ten-year-old boy, shortly after Patton arrived in Florence; according to his 1894 will Edmund had a brother Jack Hawkins and a sister, Marinda Moore. Edmund may have been a slave of the Hawkins family at the time Robert Patton purchased him. We know Lauderdale County Probate Judge Wiley T. Hawkins was a slave-owner. Edmund became the Patton family house boy and carriage driver; he also accompanied Patton on trips to Montgomery to attend sessions of the state legislature.

At Sweetwater Edmund served as butler, gardener, carriage driver and all-around houseman. Ed also oversaw the training of the eldest two Patton sons.

In February of 1871, for the sun of $1, in honor of a lifetime of faithful service, Robert Patton gave his former slave Edmund 25 acres of land “beyond the spring and the quarters,” on Huntsville Road and a comfortable six-room, two-story house, which is also said to have included an orchard, garden and vineyard; supposedly, Edmund became famous locally for his fine fruits. The legal description of Edmund’s property was described in the deed as “commencing on the Southeast corner of the Southeast qr of sec one TS 3 Range 11 west and from thence along the Township lines North thirty three chains 33 ½ links to a stake, thence West seven chains 50 links to a stake in the graveyard, thence South thirty three 1/3 chains across the Huntsville Road to a stake near a small cherry tree, thence East seven chains 50 links to the beginning.”

Edmund had one brother named Jack Hawkins, and a sister, Miranda Moore, who were named as heirs in his will and inherited his property. Jack Hawkins had a son named Jack, Jr. (1876-1943) and the Hawkins resided in Lauderdale County.

Edmund’s wife’s name was Frances, who was the "mammy" of the Governor's children, and the couple had at least one son named Frank Hawkins, who at the time of Edmund’s death lived in Memphis, Tennessee. The 1870 census recorded an 8-year-old boy, Richard and a 20-year-old Rebecca as members of Edmund’s house. In his will Edmund named Richard Hawkins as his executor.

Edmund Patton died at his home on Monday, July 9, 1894 of “congestion”; Frances Patton’s death date is not known however it was apparently between 1880 and 1892, when Edmond wrote his will, as she is not named as an heir. It is probable that Frances and Edmund were buried in the Sweetwater servants’ cemetery in unmarked graves, although some of their Hawkins relatives are buried in the Florence City Cemetery. Edmund's "Florence Herald" obituary says: "Uncle Edmund rests in a forest glade by the side of his beloved wife." This sounds like a reference to the Sweetwater slave cemetery.

Edmund’s estate inventory lists the following heirs: Jack Hawkins, Jack Hawkins, Jr., Richard Hawkins, Edward Hawkins, Frank Hawkins, George Hawkins, Kitty O’Neal, Francis O’Neal, Emily Hawkins, Albert Key, Irene Peters, George Moore, Sylvia Moore, and Edward Moore. Jack Hawkins, Jr., George Hawkins and Emily Hawkins in 1892 were minor children under the age of 21. In 1892 Edward Hawkins was a resident of St. Louis, frank Hawkins lived in Memphis, Tennessee, and Edward Moore lived in Alabama but his address was unknown. In his will, Edmund appointed Richard Hawkins as his executor, and gave his brother Jack Hawkins, and sister, Marinda Moore his dwelling house on Huntsville Road; to his son Frank Hawkins of Memphis, Irene Peters of Limestone County, Alabama, and Albert Key Edmund gave one acre of land each on the Huntsville Road. Upon the deaths of Jack Hawkins and Miranda Moore their children were to inherit his dwelling house.

For several decades Edmund's nephew Jack Hawkins, Jr. (1876-1943) lived in this house with his sister and other relatives. It was situated on the SW corner of Huntsville Road and Broadway Street, a little ways back from the road. A Compak convenience store now occupies this lot.

Another enslaved man, Sam (ca. 1837-), according to anecdote accompanied his master, 2nd Lt. William "Billy" Patton to war as his body-servant or camp slave, in the 16th Alabama Inf, CS, and loyally carried Patton’s body back to Sweetwater after he was killed at the Battle of Shiloh in April of 1862. Upon his death, the Pattons erected a tombstone in his memory which read, “SAM, Faithful to the end to those who trusted him.” Several accounts of Lt. Patton’s death were recorded in the Confederate Veteran after the war however none seem to mention the slave Sam.

From Freedmen’s Bureau records on Ancestry.com we know the names of three other former slaves from Sweetwater who were residents of Athens, Alabama in 1865: Evaline [sic] Fletcher (ca. 1843-), a former field-hand who in 1865 made a living as a laundress; Mathilda Johnson (ca. 1820-), a former house-servant whose occupation in 1865 was given as “miscellaneous”; and Simon Johnson (ca. 1825), a former blacksmith who in 1865 was employed “at water works.” Unfortunately we don’t know anything more about any of these people as further efforts to document them have proven unsuccessful.

The Sweetwater servants’ cemetery is situated near the modern Weeden Elementary School baseball field. We know this because the legal description of Edmund’s property in his 1871 deed references “a stake in the graveyard.” The legal descriptions is as follows:

"commencing on the Southeast corner of the Southeast qr of sec one TS 3 Range 11 west and from thence along the Township lines North thirty three chains 33 ½ links to a stake, thence West seven chains 50 links to a stake in the graveyard, thence South thirty three 1/3 chains across the Huntsville Road to a stake near a small cherry tree, thence East seven chains 50 links to the beginning."

It is possible that when the Weeden School was built in 1955-1956 there were no visible markers in this cemetery, thus the burials may have unwittingly been bulldozed and pushed down a hill to a ravine. Investigations are ongoing.

Sources:

"Sweet Water," by Mittie Owen McDavid, in "Historic Homes of Alabama and their Traditions," pp. 118-125, copyright 1935, Alabama Branches, National League of American Pen Women.

John B. Eldridge, “129 Negroes for Sale,” the Democrat (Huntsville, AL), Wednesday, December 3, 1834, p. 3.

Dick,” from the Democrat (Huntsville, AL), Wednesday, January 24, 1835, p. 1.

"Run Away," Democrat (Huntsville, AL), Saturday, August 1, 1840, p. 4.

1850 US Federal Census, Slave Schedules, Lauderdale County, Alabama, pp. 1109; 1111, Robert M. Patton.

1860 US Federal Census, Slave Schedules, Lauderdale County, Alabama, pp. 200 B and 201 A, Robert M. Patton.

Lauderdale County Agricultural Census, 1860, pp. 11-12, Robert M. Patton, on Ancestry.com.

U.S., Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885, Lauderdale County, Alabama, 1860, p. 172, slaves of Robert M. Patton.

Tribute by Mrs. John D. Weeden, “Edmund—A Servant,” in the Confederate Veteran, October, 1922, p. 396.

“Patton to Patton,” Lauderdale County, Alabama Deed Record, Volume 20, pp. 115-116.

1870 Lauderdale County, Alabama Census, p. 529 B.

Death of an Honored Old Colored Man,” Florence Herald, Thursday, July 12, 1894, p. 3; “Death of ‘Uncle Edmund’ Patton,” Florence Times, Saturday, July 14, 1894, p. 3..

“Petition to Probate Will of Edmund Patton,” Lauderdale County Record K, 1892-1900, pp. 81-83..

Last Will and Testament of Edmund Patton, Deceased,” Lauderdale County Will Record B, pp. 394-395.

“The National Archive in Washington, DC; Washington, DC; Records of the Field Offices For the State of Alabama, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1872,” Ancestry Library Edition (https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/)

Jack Hawkins, Jr's obituary, "Well Known Negro Dies," "Florence [AL] Times," Monday, October 11, 1943, p. 6.

Though originally a slave on the Sweetwater Henry Patton (ca. 18936-1901) was at some point prior to 1860 sold to Judge Sidney Cherry Posey's (1803-1868) nearby plantation . Wife Rachel's 1902 Florence Times obituary noted that Henry had at one time been "a servant of late Gov. R. M. Patton." Judge Posey's plantation was near Sweetwater, probably near the modern day Wilson Heights subdivision.

In 1871, Henry Patton filed an unsuccessful claim with the Southern Claims Commission, which was a court established in 1871 by the US Government to reimburse Southerners loyal to the Union for goods and livestock confiscated by the Union Army during the war. In an 1873 deposition Henry Patton stated that:

"Henry Patton (x), age 35, colored, farmer, lives at Lauderdale County.

"During the war, he lived four miles east of Florence on Judge Posey's plantation. He tended Posey's stock and stayed there until the fall of 1864.'There were at the time two Rebel Soldiers (neighborhood boys) by the names of John and Amos Hough, belonging to Gen. Roddy's command, came and threatened to kill [him]." He then joined the 10th United States Tennessee Cavalry and remained with the Union Army until early 1865. He was sent up into Ohio where he stayed until the end of the war, which was only a few months, "he being sick." He left with [Union Gen.] Wilson's troops when they left Gravelly Springs to go to Selma. He was unable to go with his Command (Col. Cliff's Regt., Capt. Baker, Co. J., Gen. Croxton's brigade) and was put on a boat at Eastport, Mississippi, and sent fourteen miles beyond Cleveland, Ohio, to Capt. Baker's father, and remained until the 1st of May 1865. He then returned to his family at Judge Posey's place."

So far no further references to Henry's Civil War activities have been located.

In February of 1893, Henry Patton testified that:

"He was Judge Posey's slave. After the war started, he agreed to stay with his master in return for a horse, a mule, and a third interest in the other stock. He stayed until he was driven away from home by the Rebel soldiers."

Judge Posey's daughter, Rachel A. Morgan, testified for Henry on February 3, 1893, and stated that:

"She has known Claimant [Henry Patton] all her life; he was a slave of her father [Judge Posey] . . . Henry was a very smart man and a very shrewd businessman . . ."

Henry married Rachel, also referred to as Sarah or "Sallie," (1853-1902), a former slave of the Callahan and Huff families. She and Henry are believed to have had at least eight children:

Alex Patton (1865-1941)
Jesse Patton (1864-1910). Enumerated in 1870 and 1880 as "Green" Patton.
Wesley Patton (ca. 1874-). Only recorded in the 1880 census.
Henry Patton (1876-1959)
Viola Patton (1880-)
John Posey Patton (1885-)
Ella Patton Tilford
Mahala Patton

Henry and family lived near Raccoon Branch on Huntsville Road, "near the [Muscle Shoals] canal," until late 1900, at which time they moved back into Florence to "be near" their children.

The 1880 Lauderdale County agricultural census recorded Henry Patton as the owner of a 65-acre farm, 25 acres of which were cultivated, valued at $600.The 1880 population census recorded Sallie, Green,

The 1880 population census enumerated Sallie Patton and children Green, Wesley and Violet as boarders in African-American farmer Edmund Connor's house. For some unknown reason Henry was not enumerated with his family and I can't find him in the population census, which was taken on 22 June, 21 days after the agricultural census was taken, recording Henry's farm.

Henry died on January 25, 1901 at the home of son Jesse, a respected Florence liveryman, and Rachel died February 1, 1902, of pneumonia.

It is possible that Henry and Rachel are buried in the Huff Cemetery, near the Huff Road Wal-Mart in Florence behind the England Junk Yard, where several other former slaves of the Posey and De Priest families are buried; however it is also possible that both are buried in the Sweetwater African-American Cemetery behind the Weeden Elementary School, or possibly in the African-American section of the Florence City Cemetery. We don't know because the couples' obituaries don't say and they died too early to have death certificates which routinely recorded places of burial.

Sources:

"North Alabama's African-Americans & The Southern Claims Commission (Part One)," by Rachel Mills Lennon, CG.

US Census, Lauderdale County, Alabama, 1870, p. 622 B.

US Census, Lauderdale County, Alabama, 1880, p. 81 D. Sallie Patton and children Green, Wesley and Violet enumerated as boarders in African-American farmer Edmund Connor's house.

Lauderdale County, Alabama Agricultural Census, 1880, p. 1 A.

"Worthy Colored Citizen Dead," Florence (AL) Herald, Thursday, January 31, 1901, p. 5.

"Saved Meat but Lost His Molasses," Florence (AL), Herald, Thursday, February 7, 1901, p. 1.

Sarah Patton's obituary, Florence (AL) Herald, Friday, February 14, 1902, p. 1.

Rachel Patton's obituary, "Aunt Rachel Patton," Florence (AL) Herald, Friday, February 14, 1902, p. 1.

Source

1. The Democrat (Huntsville, AL)
2. The Democrat (Huntsville, AL)
3. The Democrat (Huntsville, AL)
4. RM Patton's 1850 Laud. Co., AL Slave Census Enum. p. 109
5. RM Patton's 1850 Laud. Co., AL Slave Census Enum. p. 109
6. RM Patton's 1850 Laud. Co., AL Slave Census Enum. p. 200B.
7. RM Patton's 1860 Laud. Co., AL Slave Census Enum. p. 201A.
8. Slaves of RM Patton 1860 Lauderdale County, AL Mortality Schedule, p .172.
9. Slaves of RM Patton 1860 Lauderdale County, AL Mortality Schedule, p .172, cropped.
10. Robert M. Patton in the US, Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules 1850-1880. Lauderdale County, Alabama, Agriculture, 1860, p. 11.
11. Robert M. Patton in the US, Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules 1850-1880. Lauderdale County, Alabama, Agriculture, 1860, p. 12.
12. Negro Census for 1865 and Register of Bounty Claims, June-July 1868 Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, Athens and Huntsville, Alabama, p. 6.
13. Negro Census for 1865 and Register of Bounty Claims, June-July 1868 Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, Athens and Huntsville, Alabama, p. 7.
14. Lauderdale County, Alabama Deed Record, Book 20, p. 115.
14. Lauderdale County, Alabama Deed Record, Book 20, p. 116.
15. Florence (AL) Herald
16. Florence (AL) Times
17. Confederate Veteran, October, 1922
18. Confederate Veteran, October, 1922
19. Confederate Veteran, October, 1922
20. Confederate Veteran, October, 1922
21. Confederate Veteran, January, 1930
22. Confederate Veteran, January, 1930
23. Part of a modified 1916 Lauderdale County, AL topographic map showing the approximate location of the Sweetwater slave quarters and cemetery.

24. Modified Lauderdale County, Alabama Tax Map from its Online Parcel Viewer Showing the Approximate Location of Former Sweetwater Plantation Sites.
25. Modified Lauderdale County, Alabama Tax Map from its Online Parcel Viewer Showing the Approximate Location of Former Sweetwater Slave Edmund Patton's House in Relation to the Slave Cemetery and the Weeden Elementary School.
26. Modified Lauderdale County, Alabama Tax Map from its Online Parcel Viewer Showing the Approximate Location of Former Sweetwater Slave Edmund Patton's House in Relation to the Slave Cemetery and the Weeden Elementary School.
27. Copy of photo of Henry Patton provided by gr-granddaughter Mrs. Rhue Patton France of Glenn Ellyn, Ill.
28. Florence (AL) Herald
29. Florence (AL) Herald
30. Florence (AL) Herald

Publisher

1. Newspapers.com
2. Newspapers.com
3. Newspapers.com
4. Ancestry Library Edition.
5. Ancestry Library Edition.
6. Ancestry Library Edition.
7. Ancestry Library Edition.
8. Ancestry. Library Edition.
9. Ancestry Library Edition.
10. Ancestry Library Edition.
11. Ancestry Library Edition.
12. Ancestry Library Edition.
13. Ancestry Library Edition.
14. Genealogy Society, Salt Lake City, Utah
15. Genealogy Society, Salt Lake City, Utah
16. Unknown; Alabama Department of Archives and History?
17. Bell & Howell Micro Photo
18. Broadfoot Publishing Company
19. Broadfoot Publishing Company
20. Broadfoot Publishing Company
21. Broadfoot Publishing Company
22. Broadfoot Publishing Company
23. Lee Freeman
24. Lee Freeman
25. Lee Freeman
26. Lee Freeman
27. Mrs. Rhue Patton France
28. Newspapers.com
29. Newspapers.com
30. Newspapers.com

Contributor

Lee Freeman

Rights

Images are available for educational and research purposes. This image may not be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express written consent of the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of the interested party to identify the copyright holder and receive permission.

Format

jpeg

Language

English

Type

Still Images

Files

129 Negroes for Sale The Democrat (Huntsv, AL) Wed, Dec 3, 1834, p. 3..jpg
Dick, The_Democrat (Huntsv, AL) Wed__Jun_24__1835_p1.jpg
Run Away, The Democrat (Huntsv, AL) Sat__Aug_1__1840_p 4.jpg
RM Patton's 1850 Laud. Co., AL Slave Census Enum. p. 109.jpg
RM Patton's 1850 Laud. Co., AL Slave Census Enum. p. 111.jpg
RM Patton's 1860 Laud. Co., AL Slave Census Enum. p. 200B.jpg
RM Patton's 1860 Laud. Co., AL Slave Census Enum. p. 201A.jpg
Slaves of RM Patton 1860 Laud Co AL Mort Sched p 172.jpg
Slaves of RM Patton 1860 Laud Co AL Mort Sched p 172 Cropped.jpg
RM Patton 1860 Laud Co AL Ag Census Enum p 11.jpg
RM Patton 1860 Laud Co AL Ag Census Enum p 12.jpg
Negro Census for 1865 and Register of Bounty Claims, June-July 1868 Bureau of Refugess, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, Athens and Huntsville, Alabama, p. 6..jpg
Negro Census for 1865 and Register of Bounty Claims, June-July 1868 Bureau of Refugess, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, Athens and Huntsville, Alabama, p. 7...jpg
Patton to Patton Deed Laud Al Co Deed Record Bk 20 p 115.jpg
Patton to Patton Deed Laud Al Co Deed Record Bk 20 p 116.jpg
Death of An Honored Old Colored Man FH Thurs Juy 12 1894 p 3.jpg
Death of Uncle Edmond Patton FT Sat July 14 1894 p 3.jpg
CV 1922 p 1.jpg
CV 1922 p 2..jpg
CV 1922 p 3..jpg
CV 1930 P 1.jpg
CV 1930 p 2.jpg
1916 Topo Map.jpg
Approx Sweetwater Plantation Map.jpg
Laud Co Tax Map 2.jpg
Map Showing Edmund's House 1.jpg
Henry Patton.jpg
Henry Patton Death Notice FH Thu Jan 31 1901 p 1.jpg
Wortrhy Colored Citizen Dead FH Thu Jan 31 1901 p 5.jpg
Saved Meat Lost His Molasses FH Thu Feb 7 1901 p 1.jpg

Collection

Enslaved People

Citation

“Documents Recording the Enslaved Community of Sweetwater Plantation,” Shoals Black History, accessed April 27, 2024, https://shoalsblackhistory.omeka.net/items/show/1318.